Measurement of στ product of solid state laser materials by an alternative method: Application to Nd3+ doped YVO4 crystal for 4 F 3/2→4 I 11/2 transition

In this paper an alternative approach for measurement of στ product for ⁴ F _3/2→⁴ I _11/2 transition of Nd³⁺ doped YVO₄ crystal is reported. In this method a microchip laser is formed by keeping a small piece of the sample in plane-plane resonator and a diode laser (808 nm) is used for pumping. The pump power induced thermal lensing effect is used to make the cavity stable. The cavity mode area is estimated by measuring the thermal lens focal length at the threshold and the average pump area is measured by Gaussian fit to the intensity profiles of the pump beam. The value of στ product of Nd:YVO₄ crystal obtained by this method is within 10% of the reported values. The advantage of this method is that it is a simple method for direct measurement of στ product of laser crystals.     

Designed Construction of SrTiO3/SrSO4/Pt Heterojunctions with Boosted Photocatalytic H2 Evolution Activity

Efficient separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs is a crucial factor for high-performance photocatalysts. Effective electron–hole separation and migration could be achieved by heterojunctions with suitable band structures. Herein, a porous SrTiO₃/SrSO₄ heterojunction is prepared by a sol-gel method at room temperature followed by an annealing process. XRD characterization suggests high crystallinity of the heterostructure. A well-defined interface between the two phases is confirmed by high-resolution (HR)TEM. The photocatalytic H₂ evolution productivity of the SrTiO₃/SrSO₄ heterojunction with Pt as co-catalyst reaches 396.82 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, which is 16 times higher than that of SrTiO₃/Pt. The boosted photocatalytic activity of SrTiO₃/SrSO₄/Pt can be ascribed to the presence of SrSO₄, which promotes the transfer and migration of photogenerated carriers by forming the heterojunction and porous structure, which provides a large amount of active sites. This novel porous heterostructure brings new ideas for the development of high-efficiency photocatalysts for H₂ release.     

An Anthracene-Based Metal-Organic Framework for Selective Photo-Reduction of Carbon Dioxide to Formic Acid Coupled with Water Oxidation

A Zr-based metal-organic framework has been synthesized and employed as a catalyst for photochemical carbon dioxide reduction coupled with water oxidation. The catalyst shows significant carbon dioxide reduction property with concomitant water oxidation. The catalyst has broad visible light as well as UV light absorption property, which is further confirmed from electronic absorption spectroscopy. Formic acid was the only reduced product from carbon dioxide with a turn-over frequency (TOF) of 0.69 h⁻¹ in addition to oxygen, which was produced with a TOF of 0.54 h⁻¹. No external photosensitizer is used and the ligand itself acts as the light harvester. The efficient and selective photochemical carbon dioxide reduction to formic acid with concomitant water oxidation using Zr-based MOF as catalyst is thus demonstrated here.     

结晶紫的表面增强共振拉曼光谱和银胶浓度的关系

常用的银胶一般浓度较低且不稳定,这就限制了它在表面增强共振拉曼谱(SERRS)中的应用,本文旨在探讨一种容易制备,浓度高而且特别稳定的银胶在增强结晶紫(CV)SERRS讯号方面的应用,对一定浓度的CV,我们发现只有配合适当浓度的银胶才能获得最强的SERRS的信号,这个现象是由于稳定剂(PVP)在银颗粒表面的作用造成的。     

A rapid,simple and reliable HPLC‐triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometer method for a simultaneous quantification of irinotecan and its active metabolite 7‐ethyl‐10‐hydroxycamptothecin (SN38) in mouse plasma

A simple, fast and reliable high‐performance liquid chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry method (HPLC‐MS/MS method) was developed, validated and used for the simultaneous quantification of irinotecan and 7‐ethyl‐10‐hydroxycamptothecin (SN38) in heparinized mouse plasma. Camptothecin was used as the internal standard. A single‐step protein precipitation without evaporation and reconstitution steps was adopted as sample processing method. Our bioanalytical method was validated in compliance with the guidelines from the European Medicines Agency. The lower limit of quantification for both irinotecan and SN38 was 5 ng/mL. The calibration curves for both analytes fitted to a 1/x² weighted linear regression model and ranged from 5 to 1000 ng/mL. The intra‐run and inter‐run precisions were within 8.6%, and the intra‐run and inter‐run accuracies were within 96.4?103.9%. Our validated bioanalytical method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study in mice, in which 4 mg/kg irinotecan was intraperitoneally injected. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bromination of 5‐Methoxyindane: Synthesis of New Benzoindenone Derivatives and Ready Access to 7H‐Benzo[c]fluoren‐7‐one Skeleton

The photobromination of 5‐methoxyindane and 5‐methoxyindanone was studied at both high and low temperatures. 1,2,3‐Tribromo‐6‐methoxyindene was easily synthesized by photolytic bromination of 5‐methoxyindane at low temperature. 1,1,2,3‐Tetrabromo‐6‐methoxyindene was obtained from the photobromination of 5‐methoxyindan at 77 °C, which could then be easily converted to the 2,3‐dibromo‐6‐methoxyindene by silver‐supported hydrolysis. Photochemical bromination of 5‐methoxy‐1‐indanone with N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS) gave 3‐bromo‐6‐methoxyindene, which upon thermolysis gave a benzo[c]fluorenone derivative.     

A simple route to porous ZnO and ZnCdO nanowires

Porous ZnO nanowires were obtained in an inexpensive and simple way by thermally oxidizing ZnSe nanowires in air. The morphologies of the precursor and resulted nanowires are almost identical. X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy reveal that the zinc blende ZnSe nanowires were transformed into wurtzite ZnO nanowires after oxidation. Transmission electron microscope measurements indicate that the ZnO nanowires are polycrystalline and are composed of nanoparticles and nanopores. ZnCdO nanowires, which were seldom reported previously, have also been prepared in this way. Just like the ZnO nanowires, the ZnCdO nanowires also show the porous structure. Photoluminescence studies on both ZnO and ZnCdO nanowires show intense near-band edge emissions at room temperature. The transition from one kind of nanowires to another by simple thermal oxidization described in this paper may be applicable to some other compound semiconductors and may open a practical route to yield nanowires.     

Growth and luminescence of ternary semiconductor ZnCdSe nanowires by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

ZnCdSe alloy nanowires were successfully grown on the GaAs (100) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using Au as a catalyst. The nanowires display two distinct types of morphology. The majority of them are straight, uniform in diameter, and have a smooth surface. However, a significant portion of them contain one or two constrictions along their length. The alloy is found to be rich in Zn; its composition, as determined from X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis, is close to Zn(0.9)Cd(0.1)Se. The peak energy of its room temperature near-band-edge photoluminescence is also consistent with this composition. X-ray diffraction pattern and transmission electron microscopy find both types of nanowires to be single crystalline, have the metastable wurtzite structure, and a growth direction along 100. The presence of an Au-Cd-Zn alloy particle at the tip of the nanowires supports vapor-liquid-solid as the growth mechanism. The appearance of constrictions in some of the nanowires is found to be linked to the existence of structural defects, possibly stacking faults, during growth.     

Dielectric relaxation phenomena of rigid polar liquid molecules under giga hertz electric field

The dielectric relaxation phenomena of rigid polar liquid molecules chloral and ethyltrichloroacetate (j) in benzene, n-hexane and n-heptane (i) under 4.2, 9.8 and 24.6 GHz electric fields at 30°C are studied to show the possible existence of double relaxation times τ ₂ and τ ₁ for rotations of the whole and the flexible parts of molecules. The probability of showing double relaxation is more in aliphatic solvents indicating their nonrigidity. The symmetric and asymmetric distribution parameters γ and δ are obtained from X _ij ^′ /X _0ij and X _ij ^″ /X _0ij and w _j →0 where X _ij ^′ and X _ij ^″ are real and imaginary parts of the complex orientational susceptibility X _i ^* and X _0ij is the low frequency susceptibility which is real. X _ij ’s are involved with the measured dielectric relative permittivities ε _ij ^′ , ε _in ^″ , ε _0ij and ε _∞ij of solutions. The theoretical weighted contributions c ₁ and c ₂ towards dielectric dispersions by Fröhlich’s method are compared with the experimental ones obtained from the graphical variation of X _ij ^′ /X _0ij and X _ij ^″ /X _0ij with weight fractions w _j ’s at w _j → 0. The measured dipole moments μ ₂ and μ ₁ of the whole and the flexible part of a polar molecule in terms of the linear coefficients β’s of X _ij ^′ ’s with w _j ’s and the estimated τ ₂ and τ ₁ reveal their associations with aliphatic solvents. The theoretical dipole moments μ _theo’s from the available bond angles and bond moments of the substituent polar groups of the molecules with the estimated μ’s suggest the mesomeric, inductive and electromeric effects in them under GHz electric field.